The death of Dolly Parton hit me hard, harder than I expected. I know I am not alone. She created a persona that was bigger than life, but she was all about a life well lived. A recent Poll I read said Dolly Parton was the most beloved and unifying public figure in America. Her mentee, Taylor Swift, holds the title for being the most visible and culturally dominant force in our country. One might wonder how someone who is a Boomer could be one of the Dollies and one of the

Recently, I spoke to someone close to me who told me about the experience of losing her son to brain cancer when he was eight years old. They did everything they could. How horrific was the journey to try to save their son that she shared! The memories are vivid and painful still and, in my opinion, may last her lifetime. I picked up The New York Times, and on the front page, Thursday, July 9, 2026, was an article about parents choosing to possibly lose a child, “As Parents

Kylie Kelce, the wife of Jason Kelce, and new sister-in-law of Taylor Swift, has what she calls the ultimate postpartum gift guide for baby showers, which I love. Yes, I am a grandmother of six where the youngest is eight years old. No matter, I watched Kylie Kelce’s podcast on Facebook on the best postpartum gift guide for baby showers for Moms to be. I am a real Kylie Kelcie fan. I never thought I would be, but she truly tells everything like it is and doesn’t pull any p

As we mature, and I say mature instead of age, because we begin taking multiple medications a lot earlier in our lives than I realized, multiple drugs mean multiple issues. It took me to the point of aging to realize that I had to pay attention to drug interactions and depletions of essential nutrients by taking drugs that we are told by our medical professionals are imperative to our health. I hope this blog post comes to you sooner than my realization came to me, so you c

Intimacy. Romance. Intimacy. Luxury. Intimacy. Location. Intimacy, Privacy. Intimacy, Memories. As a divorce lawyer and divorce judge for decades, I have lectured and written often that the first thing that goes in a relationship is intimacy. Life interferes with the intimate connection that brought a couple to the point of commitment to the relationship. Maintaining the intimate connection should be the primary intent of any relationship, it keeps it healthy and vibrant. I

I finally purchased a new Apple Watch for the security of knowing if I fall, and cannot respond, I have three emergency contacts and 911 it can call. It was a birthday gift to myself for peace of mind. What I didn’t anticipate was that the Apple Watch would control my life. I truly enjoy exercising and exercise eight hours a week, including yoga, Pilates, and physical therapy. The Apple Watch monitors your exercise. Of course, I now exercise more. It tells me to stand if

As a retired lawyer, and a judge for twenty years on the bench, I keep hearing that we won’t have any need for lawyers anymore in the future because AI will be able to write legal documents and AI can help someone act on their own in the courthouse. Having been a family court judge when 80% of the cases in front of me were self- represented, I can tell you it was a nightmare for the litigants representing themselves and a nightmare for me as the judge. And that was before A

I have always heard about spring cleaning, and now that it is spring, I feel guilty not thinking about spring cleaning. Then, ‘death cleaning’ appeared in my radar, and the first thing I thought of is that it is a terrible title! But it is a real thing! You get to a certain age and you start to automatically read obituaries. It’s not that you’re anticipating death, it’s just that what those dead accomplished in their life becomes interesting. In the New York Times, Obi

I met Cora Wen at the memoir writers’ retreat in Guatemala. There was something about Cora that drew me to her. Maybe it was that both of us came from immigrant families. Her energy is addictive. Cora was my therapeutic yoga teacher as well. We met at 7 AM every morning and she helped heal my broken shoulder, the Eastern way, and its excellent healing surprised my Western doctor. East and West. Much better when our lives – and our health -- are intertwined. Cora wrote P

One of the worst moments in life is when the doctor advises to call hospice for you or your loved one. Inside, you panic. This is navigating a new unknown. The end is now close, and no one wants to contemplate this inevitable. Hospice care is supposed to be specialized, compassionate care for individuals with terminal illnesses (generally less than six months to live) that is supposed to prioritize quality of life, comfort, and dignity over curative treatment . Suppo

As a grandmother, I will do anything to make my grandchildren happy. I knew about MrBeast on YouTube because my then seven-year-old and 13 year-old grandchildren kept showing me all the contests where he was giving away ridiculously large amounts of cash. They were hooked on MrBeast, who has been on YouTube for thirteen years, longer than the ages of my grandchildren when they introduced me to him. When MrBeast announced that he was selling chocolate, of course they wanted th

I have just returned from a memoir writing workshop retreat, called “Write By the Lake,” at Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, with Joyce Maynard. A long (we never say old) dear friend, Valerie, went exactly one year ago and told me to immediately sign up. I did. As I learned at the retreat, I am making a list of the words that describe the experiences of spending a week in rural and rugged Guatemala at Lake Atitlan and with Joyce Maynard, surrounded by thirty- four varieties of bird

As many of you may have experienced, when the first grandchild is born, you cannot wait to take them to the circus and other experiences. It is joyful to watch their eyes light up as they see things for the first time. And of course, you take them as soon as you can. We took our oldest grandchild when he was close to four. Please read the blog post, “ Of First Born Children and First Born Grandchildren: Benefits of Loving The First the Longest.” Especially those of you wai

As a former teacher who used to teach the Palmer Method to my elementary school children and as the mother of six grandchildren, it hurt my heart when in 2010 the U.S. education system removed cursive writing as a school curriculum requirement from the federal Common Core Standards. New Jersey has just become the 25th state, meaning, as of the beginning of 2026, we now have half of our states, again requiring cursive instruction in public schools. Half, or more than half o

My mother, a Holocaust survivor and daughter of a Kabbalist rabbi from a small town in pre World War II Poland, had a unique outlook on life. It is not unusual that looking back on my childhood and younger adulthood that I realize now her wisdom was rooted in Kabbalah. I just did not know then. I wrote a previous New Year’s blog about my mother and feelings of gratitude. Rereading it reminded me of the wonderful generational life lessons she instilled in me every day that she

Within the last several months, I have felt a sudden compulsion to address the Holocaust in my life and write a memoir of how the Holocaust impacted my family and me. Until this point, I could not see movies about the Holocaust, I could not read books about the Holocaust. I could not deal with the Holocaust as a child of Holocaust survivors. This turnabout has perplexed me. Because of this new compulsion, I just returned from a Jewish Heritage tour to Eastern Europe, visited

Whenever a couple near and dear to me tells me that they are entering into a committed relationship, getting engaged, or getting married, I first recommend premarital counseling, which I learned builds a strong foundation for the new committed relationship or marriage. There will be three entities, each person as an individual and as a separate entity, the committed or marital relationship. Combining the entities in a safe, expert setting eases the transition. Why not make g

His name was Jihad Al-Shamie. He was 35 years old and a British citizen of Syrian descent who entered the U.K. as a very young child, and...

I recently learned at age 78 that age 78 is the third critical age when the human body experiences a significant biological aging burst,...

Having been a judge and a lawyer, I am a rule follower. Actually, I’ve always been a rule follower, so it was easy to be a lawyer and a...